The present invention relates to coating material and an electronic image processing apparatus. More specifically, it relates to coating material for eliminating ozone and an electronic image processing apparatus having the same which forms an image by means of electrostatic charge. By way of clarity, in the specification the word "eliminating" is defined to be both decomposing and adsorbing.
Electronic image processing apparatuses containing an electrostatically-charging image forming part generate ozone during the steps of charging a photoconductive member to a predetermined level of electric charge, transforming a toner image from the photoconductive member to a sheet of material paper, and removing the sheet having the received toner image from the photoconductive member. In these steps, activated particles of oxygen are generated by the inelastic collision of oxygen molecules and the charged particles generated by ionization of the air, due to corona discharge. The activated particles and oxygen molecules react to generate ozone.
The ozone can be adsorbed by the surface of the photoconductive member, forming an oxidized layer which lowers the resistance of the surface of the photoconductive member. If the photoconductive member is made of an organic photoconductive material, the photoconductive member can react with the ozone, lowering the sensitivity of the photoconductive member. These may cause improper developing by, for example, fading and spreading of the image on the photoconductive member.
Furthermore, the ozone generated in the electronic image processing apparatuses is discharged to the outside by a fan or the like, increasing the ozone concentration in the ambient air. A high concentration of ozone in the ambient air can have an adverse affect on the human body.